So in the photo above perhaps you can see the deteriorated mortar around the brick. Look closely at the poor repair where the steps meet the stoop. A DIY installation of mortar is unsightly and not serving much purpose. And, if you follow the line of the mortar just above the DIY mortar installation, you should be able to see the steps starting to drop down on the right hand side. What can cause this?

Well, like the hint above indicates, mortar is porous and can allow water to penetrate and cause problems inside the brick structure. Usually that shows up in loose bricks, not bricks caving in. Another possibility is the slab that the steps rests on has started to fail and drop down, taking the brick step system with it. But I happen to know that in this case that slab had already been repaired and lifted back into the correct position. So what else can be wrong? You would never guess unless I showed it to you. What do you think is holding those bricks up? Concrete? Look below.

In the pic above you are looking down into the area below the top step in the earlier pic. What is holding the brick steps up is more brick. But loose brick. Most of the bricks below the steps are just laid in place to add vertical support. No mortar was used to put the bricks in place permanently. So over time they can move due to vibration, weight, or poor installation. And that is what happened. When the slab dropped first, separation between these bricks was present. Without vertical pressure to keep them in place, they were free to react to vibrations and weight. Then, when the slab lift was completed, some of the bricks were knocked out of place. So they did not do anything to support the brick steps. Look at the closeups in the following two pix.

Can you beleive it? Nothing but pressure held the support bricks in place. How do you think this should have been done? For the answer, see below.

ANSWER: The correct way to support brick steps is with poured concrete and metal rebar reinforcement. Above is the first layer of concrete and rebar going into postion. Below is a closeup of how the rebar connects into the porch behind the steps.

Comments in this posting are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings. HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more! In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis. Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753.